The Tomb of Lala Rukh was built in the 17th century, and is traditionally believed to be the tomb of a daughter of the Emperor Akbar.

The famous Chinese traveler Xuanzang who visited the place in the 7th century A.D. mentions the sacred spring of Elapatra about 70 li to the northwest of Taxila which has been identified as the spring at of Gurdwara Panja Sahib.[4]
The town is mentioned in Ain-i-Akbari in the context that Shams al-Din built himself a vault there in which lies Hakim Abu’l Fath buried. Akbar’s visit to the town on his way back from Kashmir is also mentioned.

William Finch who travelled through India between 1608 and 1611 describes Hasan Abdal to be a "pleasant town with a small river and many fair tanks in which are many fishes with golden rings in their noses ...; the water so clear that you may see a penny in the bottom".[5]

The town was seat for Mughal warring expeditions to the northwest frontier.[2] The Mughal emperor Jehangir mentions in his Tuzk-e-Jahangiri this town by the name of Baba Hasan Abdal where he stayed for three days. He also praises the city in these words: "The celebrated place at this station is a spring which flows from the foot of a little hill, exceedingly clear, sweet and nice...".[5] Hasan Abdal was visited by various Mughal kings on their way to Kashmir[6]

Raja Man Singh built the nearby Wah Gardens during the reign of Akbar. The terraced gardens were divided into four parts.[7]Shah Jahan rested at Hasan Abdal's Wah Gardens on his four expeditions to Kabul. Emperor Aurangzeb stayed at the for over a year beginning in 1674,[8][9] in order to quell the Afridi Revolt.[2] The presence of Emperor Aurangzeb at the gardens convinced many local Pashtun tribes to abandon the rebellion, and join forces with the Mughals.[2]

"The Muslim version of the story is that one Hasan, a Gujjar, had many buffaloes; that a Faqir named Abdal came and asked him for a draught of milk. Hasan said, I would gladly give you some, but my buffaloes are at present dry. Abdal laid his hand on one of them and said, "Now milk it." He did so, and soon gave him a copious draught. Abdal expressed his gratitude to Hasan, and asked what he could do for him. Hasan replied that they were much straitened for want of water, on which Abdal struck the neighbouring hills in two places, from which the two streams of Hasan Abdal have come forth. On the departure of the Faqir, Hasan said the spot should hereafter be called after them jointly".

In 1521 the founder of the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak, arrived in Hasan Abdal, a Gurdwara was built on the spot that he stayed containing a sacred rock that is believed to contain the hand print of Guru Nanak.[6] Punja or panja (Punjabi: پنجہ‬(Shahmukhi); ਪੰਜਾ (Gurmukhi)) :hand or paw. There are different traditions about the origin of the Hand print.

There is a Tehsil Headquarters Hospital and numerous privately owned clinics in and around the city. Despite the exponential growth in population, the health care facilities are extremely insufficient. Many hospitals are located nearby Wah Cantonment or in Rawalpindi.

The city has several state owned primary schools, a high school each for boys and girls, a higher secondary school each for boys and girls and a degree college for women. There are a number of privately run schools to make up for the shortfall of the state owned ones.presentation convent high school is also established since 1956.

Surrounded by the fresh water springs with crystal clear water and Loquat orchards the city used to be an idyllic place till recent past. Its beauty as mentioned in the earliest accounts[5] has somehow survived the ill planning that has resulted in an exponential increase in its population.